POSTBLOG FROM SITKA ALASKA: Goodbye Wilderness!

It seemed like every time we tried to nap, we would be called on deck to observe yet another whale or a bear walking along the shoreline.  I’m not saying I’m tired of seeing wildlife, I’m just tired.

This was not a restful vacation.

The final day in the wilderness, Clyde and I did some kayaking around a little bay whereupon we saw a stream with salmon jumping up the falls, just like on TV. We watched a young brown bear catch a fish and run into the forest with it. The naturalist who was standing on the nearby shore said it was probably nervous about other bears taking his catch.

The expedition ended in Sitka, population 9,000. It is the most civilization we’ve seen in over a week. It’s very picturesque with the rain forest and Pacific Ocean surrounding. One of the hotel employees indicated that it was much smaller than that big city of Juneau.

In Sitka we paid a visit to Saint Michaels Russian Orthodox Cathedral and toured the local raptor rehabilitation center. There were lots of eagles and owls recovering from injuries, most of whom will eventually be released back into the wild.

They apparently aren’t used to “homosexuals” here.  The clerk who checked us into the Super 8 didn’t think Clyde and I should share one queen sized bed.  She finally figured it out and was ok with it in the end.

The best thing about the Super 8 is the wifi, so I can post some photos and one last postblog.

Tomorrow we fly to Seattle and the next day, home to Denver.

It was sad to leave the ship. We made some new friends and shared a lot of experiences together. Some of us continued to have that rocking rolling sensation after we stood on dry land.

I have to say that I love being in Alaska. Though we only saw a little part of it, the unspoiled beauty and all the wildlife, made me feel like the world isn’t necessarily doomed. It seems like at least in Southeast Alaska, they are figuring out how to live with nature without destroying it, giving me hope that it can be done elsewhere as well.

  

It was also wonderful to share the experience with sister Sue and bro-in-law Jerry.  We will remember this trip together for a long time to come.

Now, it’s back to civilization. At least here in Sitka we have a nice big hotel room where the shower and the toilet don’t fill the same space.

POSTBLOG FROM GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK: Stories of Whales and Woes

The 44 year old humpback was known to everyone in the national park so it was a tragic day when her lifeless body was discovered floating in the bay, the victim of a cruise ship hit and run.

After providing many meals for bears and wolves, Snow’s skeleton was cleaned and reassembled and put on display at the Glacier Bay National Park visitor’s center in order to help educate visitors about humpback whales. Needless to say, it is a large skeleton.

Today we traversed the length of Glacier Bay, the most pristine place I’ve ever seen.  There is no development at all. Just miles and miles and miles of turquoise water, glaciers, icebergs, mountains up to 15,000 feet, and forest. The only way to get in and around the park, which is the size of Rhode Island, is by boat. Unfortunately the mystique of the wilderness is compromised when one of those gigantic cruise ships races by.

From the ship’s deck, we saw mountain goats, a family of bears  (a sow and three cubs), and most exciting of all: a pod of Orcas. They were wonderful to watch, their dorsals bobbing up and down in glassy water.  

The whole day was narrated by a couple of guests: a park ranger and a representative of the Tlinket people, both who told stories and educational facts about everything we were observing. I’m sure those hoards on the big cruise liners don’t have a fraction of the experience we are getting.

Just another day in Alaska on the National Geographic Sea Lion. 

POSTBLOG FROM ALASKA: Up Close and Personal with Sea Lions

If you wave your arms, claimed the naturalist on our Zodiac, the sea lions might follow us.

We did, and they did.

Today we took the Zodiacs out to a narrow channel where the open ocean meets the inland passage. The tide moves very fast, and the water is teaming with salmon on their way to spawn. The salmon, in turn, attract the sea lions. Hundreds of them.

I’ve watched sea lions awkwardly lumber on the beach or rocks before, but today we were out in the open ocean watching them swim gracefully and playfully. Occasionally we’d see one catch a fish and slam it against the water in order to break it so they could swallow its pieces.

Even though the wind threatened to blow my hat off, and the rain stung my face, I didn't care. It was so very amazing.

We also saw sea otters floating on their backs in the channel eating sea urchins, using rocks to break them open. And, of course (yawn), we observed more humpback whales. Tonight we saw three humpbacks sleeping at the surface. I actually never tire of seeing humpbacks. I do hope we’ll get to see an orca.

POSTBLOG FROM THE RAINFOREST: Are there any Sasquatch in here?

The scientist leading the hike didn’t know whether I was serious when I asked him if Bigfoot resided nearby. His answer was, “Not that I know of.”

One of today’s highlights was a hike in the SE Alaska rainforest. A green carpet of moss covered everything, especially fallen trees. We went way inland enough to see old growth forest which was left alone by loggers in the 20^th century because it was too far from shore. So we got the pleasure of seeing trees that were 500 to 1,000 years old.

Also on that hike, we watched salmon swimming and jumping their way upstream to spawn and then to die. Very cool!

Today’s lecture from a naturalist (I keep trying to say naturist, but that’s something else) was about whales. Whales are really smart. Much to the chagrin of whoever’s in charge, some whales have learned that if they hang out near the hatchery, they can capture the newborn fish as they are released. It really messes up the restocking of Pacific salmon. 

Right before lunch, we stood on the bow watching humpbacks do bubble netting. They exhale under water creating a wall of bubbles which herds the krill into a tight, dense wall of food that the giant animals gobble right up.  

I will have a million pictures for Facebook when we get home. Unfortunately the satellite link to the internet can only transmit text, and it costs $.70 per minute or something like that. So for now, anyone who’s interested in our travels will just have to read about it here.

POSTBLOG FROM PETERSBURG ALASKA: Flight Seeing Like Site Seeing Only From a Plane

Seeing the ice fields from a few thousand feet high distracted me from worrying that the little single engine pontoon plane would crash. It was worth the extra $200 to get the aerial perspective – these glaciers are freakin’ huge.

From the air, we saw vast snow fields producing the magnificent glaciers which like frozen rivers, powerfully carve out valleys, smooth over peaks, and calf icebergs which melt in the inlets and turn the water green.  Climate change, which is real by the way, is most evident here in Southeast  Alaska  when you learn how rapidly the ice is retreating.

Just another day of thrills as we tour Southeast Alaska’s Inland Passage on the National Geographic Sea Lion.

This afternoon, we stopped in the town of Petersburg, population 3,000, for a bit of shore leave. While my sister Sue and I opted to take the flight tour over the glaciers, others leisurely explored the town and admired the fishing boats docked nearby. It’s amazing how there is no way to drive out of these little towns, including Juneau, so you have to either fly, boat, or ferry to get away. 

This might be a good time to describe the ship. It is Calypso-sized (of Jaques Cousteau fame) with outdoor decks in the front and the back. Clyde and I are in a little cabin, the size of a small dorm room with twin beds and a toilet-shower combination.

We spend a lot of our downtime hanging out in the lounge which consists of tables and chairs, a bar, and coffee and tea all day. The lounge is also where we hear lectures. Before  lunch, one of the experienced naturalists taught us all about bears (there are only three species of bear in North America: black, brown, and polar). Late in the afternoon, a local fisherwoman told us about the fishing industries including the seasonal nature of the work, and how invested these locals are in making sure the stock remains sustainable.  Much learning was had by all.

The dining room, on the same level as the lounge, is where we take our meals. And the food is wonderful. Dinner always features options of seafood, beef, or vegetarian. Tonight we ate crabs which were caught near Petersburg  just hours before. So good!

As of this writing, a general announcement has been made. There are humpback whales off the bow. Ho hum, whales again …

POSTBLOG FROM ALASKA: If You Touch Your Tongue to a Glacier, Will It Stick? And Here Whaley Whaley!

With a crack and a rumble, the gigantic curtains of ice broke suddenly from the mountain sized glacier and crashed into the water below, creating a mini-tsunami that forced the Zodiac raft to face into the waves as they spread out into the fjord.

What a spectacular day!

In the morning we hiked into the rain forest, observing a large brown bear and her three cubs ambling quickly along the shoreline.

The afternoon took us from the ship in Zodiacs to observe a huge deep blue crystal glacier up close, dodging ice burgs inhabited by seals who were just finishing their pupping season.

As we observed an incredible late sunset and prepared to make our way to our cabins, a pod of humpback whales appeared off the bow of the ship. We shivered and waited between each animal’s plume of breath, watching  the creatures’ backs and tails arch and dive amid the clicking of many cameras on deck.

Each event was accompanied by expert commentary from excellent naturalists, interpreting what we were seeing and answering our questions.

The answer is no, by the way. If you lick a glacier, your tongue will not stick. But you don’t dare get close enough to find out.

I can’t even begin to convey this extraordinary day except to say that if it ended now, we would have gotten our money’s worth.

But tomorrow, new adventures will be had as we cruise Alaska’s Inside Passage on the National Geographic Sea Lion. 

POSTBLOG FROM JUNEAU: Aboard the Sea Lion, Jumping Fish, Practicing with Life Preservers

 At last, we are aboard are home for the next seven days, the National Geographic Sea Lion. It's a tiny vessel, with just 60 people aboard, comparedIt's a tiny vessel, with just 60 people aboard, compared to the giant  cruise ships docked next to us that hold 6000. It reminds me of the S.S. Minnow of Gilligan's Island fame.

 We have received our emergency and abandon ship training, mastering the putting on of life preservers, and we've had our first meal on board. Now, Clyde and I are settling down into our small but comfy cabin awaiting the midnight launch.  Tomorrow we will wake up in a fjord somewhere.

 But the wildlife experiences have already started.  Right next to the ship, fish are jumping. Some of them multiple times, like skipping rocks. I don't know what kind of fish they are or why they are jumping. We will have to ask one of the naturalists aboard.

 If you are following our travels on Facebook, I'm afraid I have bad news. Because of the slowness and expense of the Internet connection on board, I won't be posting anymore pictures until the end of the trip.   I will, however, try to keep up the daily post blogs.

For now, bon voyage.

POSTBLOG FROM JUNEAU: City of Dogs

There are a lot of dogs here in Juneau. The hotel where we are staying has a limit to the number of pets you can have. Five. No more than five dogs can be in your hotel room.

Yelp reviews talked about a dog at the front desk. I pictured a big Alaskan husky or something. Turns out it's a little miniature poodle type puppy.

Everywhere you go there are dogs.

As we walked downtown we saw people with dogs.  As we walked by giant cruise ships which are not like the one we sail on tomorrow, we saw people with dogs.

As we hiked around the magnificent Mendenhall Glacier, yep, people with dogs.

I thought Boulder was dog crazy.

Juneau is very big and very small. Land area wise, it's one of the biggest in the U.S. Population wise, however, it's only 30,000 or so. I don't know how many dogs live here, but I'll bet it's a lot.

It rains a lot in Juneau, thus the many waterfalls in the surrounding mountains.

Tomorrow our cruise starts. I don't know if there will be dogs on board.

POSTBLOG FROM SEATTLE: Credit Card Fraud to Start the Trip

No sooner did we land in Seattle this morning than my credit card stopped working. A call to the customer service line revealed that someone has been using my card number to charge hundreds of dollars at Best Buy. So they are cancelling the card.

Oh but not to worry, they'll send it overnight to my home address, where I won't be for two weeks.

Could the timing be any worse? I need that card to pay for everything, from my baggage check tomorrow on Alaska Airlines to hotels to meals to wifi on the ship.

Argh!

After Clyde calmed me down, I realized that I have a debit card for use in just such a situation. I don't think the trip is ruined after all. Just a little excitement to start the vacation off.

It was a fun day anyway.

We spent the afternoon wandering around Seattle where I finally got to see Pike's Place Market. Last time we were here it was a Sunday night and the place was empty. This afternoon it was very crowded but I did get to see some dead fish.

And just to make the afternoon really great, the 7-Eleven near the hotel had sugar free slurpees. Yeah!

Tomorrow we head for Juneau, one step closer to our National Geographic cruise. Assuming I get some internet access, I'll try to post reports on BillsWeek.

Splurging on Electronic Books

I'm finally taking a big step into the 21st century. I'm reading books electronically on my iPad.

This momentous change is coming about as I pack for a nearly two week vacation. After counting out shirts and underwear, and making room for the laptop and all my prescriptions, there is no room for books in my one checked bag and backpack carry on. The iPad, however, takes up very little space. So instead of cramming in two or three paper volumes, I'm downloading enough reading to keep me occupied for several months.

I can't travel without something to read. If I don't have enough to read, I get very anxious. I have to keep my mind occupied. God forbid I should be alone with my thoughts. You never know when you'll be stuck in some airport terminal for hours or waiting for your companion to be seen in the emergency room. Reading a big fat novel can make that time more bearable.

Why did I wait so long to take advantage of electronic literature?

I'm not a Luddite. I enjoy technology. I depend on a computer and a smart phone, and I love my DVR.

Some people claim to prefer the smell of paper and the feel of a turning page, the holding of a solid book in their hand. I'm not one of those.

I've also long objected to the collecting of thousands of volumes that take up space, gather dust, and are read once (if that) and never used again. I purged my outsized book collection long ago.

Don't get me wrong. I love books. I read them all the time. But most of the time, I borrow them from the public library.

I'm a big fan of the public library. If you want something that they don't have, they will borrow it from another library. And the library is free to everyone.

Free.

Even though they are less expensive than hardcover, electronic books still cost money, generally speaking.

And I am cheap. I am so cheap that I have read mostly only library books for years. I've read mysteries, fiction, non-fiction, biographies, and best sellers without spending a dime.

I understand the library even has a way for ,me to borrow electronic books. I don't know how that works, but it's worth looking into.

One Nation UNDER God

I hate singing patriotic songs in church. Confusing patriotism with worshiping God is blasphemy. The flag, a symbol of our country, is too often an idolatrous object, worshiped like the golden calf in Exodus. Revered and saluted, the stars and stripes are respected more than many of the people it represents.

A typical liberal, I'm so appalled by others' blind, hysterical flag waving, I sometimes forget that I am also a proud citizen.

July 4 has always been an important holiday for me.

• The summer before second or third grade, I sustained an eye injury and was hospitalized. I was discharged on July 4. Blind in one eye, I still wanted to see fireworks. My dad drove me over to Omaha's Peony Park and from the inside of the car, I watched with the good eye. 
• In 1992 I got married on the fourth.  It wasn't a legal wedding. At that time, few of us sincerely thought legal gay marriage would be possible in our lifetimes. But celebrate we did as friends and family came from all over. It was a blast. The relationship didn't last, but that year, the fourth was great.
• One of my favorite July 4 memories is of a square dance convention in Baltimore in the year 2000. And yes, I square danced as a card carrying member of the Rocky Mountain Rainbeaus. We took a dinner cruise out on the harbor to watch fireworks. As we passed the point where Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the Star Spangled Banner, the huge crowd of mostly gay men and lesbians suddenly began singing, God Bless America. It was a goosebump moment. I thought that if all these people who have been told over and over again that they don't deserve equal rights, the right to marry, the opportunity to serve in the military, the freedom to love whomever they choose - that their citizenship is "less than," if they can still love this country, there must be something worth loving. 

This year, as we celebrate the nation's birthday, our citizenship is reaffirmed by the Supreme Court's ruling on LGBT marriage equality. I feel a little more like a proud American than I did last year.

I'm not a flag waver. I don't place country with God above all else. But I am a patriot. I believe the U.S.A. is a basically good place which requires constant tinkering and vigilance to stay that way. When I criticize the U.S. and protest some of the things it does, I'm not only exercising my patriotic duty to make things better, I am participating in the freedom of speech guaranteed so clearly by the Constitution.

This doesn't mean I think other nations are inferior. One of my favorite songs, rooted in a national song of Finland, allows for love of God and country without chauvinistic nationalism:

This is my song, O God of all the nations,
a song of peace for lands afar and mine;
this is my home, the country where my heart is;
here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine:
but other hearts in other lands are beating
with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,
and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine;
but other lands have sunlight too, and clover,
and skies are everywhere as blue as mine:
O hear my song, thou God of all the nations,
a song of peace for their land and for mine.